World War II Research Project

Battleships and Aircraft Carriers

• The Lorraine was built in the early 1910s, and named in honor of the region Lorraine in France.
• The Lorraine was actually commissioned to France on March 10, 1916
• Built by Chantiers and the Loires
• Participated in the bombardments

Béarn

• Built January 10,1914 and commissioned in May 1927
• This aircraft carrier was built by La Seyne
• During the German invasion on France in 1940 this carrier was ordered
• to Toulon for transferring items overseas.

Jean Bart

• Built March 6, 1940
• This aircraft carrier was built by Arsenal de Brest
• This aircraft was designed to fight the Italian Navy's newer battleships

Richelieu

• Built on October 22,1939
• This battleship was built by Arsenal de Brest
• Served with British fleet in the Pacific, later off Indochina
• Designed to encounter certain classes of the Italian battleships

Bretagne

• Built in September of 1915
• This battleship was built by Arsenal de Brest
• One of the few French super-dreadnoughts
• Covered convoy traffic in the Atlantic and also transported gold bars.

Sonar

• Sound navigation and ranging system used for detection of objects under water
• It measures the waters depth by emitting sound pulses and and detecting or
• measuring their return before being reflected.
• Sound waves travel through fresh water at a speed approximate to 4,920 feet per second.

Radar

• Radio detection and ranging used to detect distant objects by receiving radio waves that are reflected
• The position of a detected target is determined by measuring the time it takes the signal pulse to travel to the
• object, bounce off, and return to the transmitting antenna
• Radar can be effective day or night and through any weather conditions since it uses radio waves

Leader

• Charles de Gaulle quickly became the political figurehead of the Free French movement based in Great Britain
• Became a lecturer at French Staff College where he developed his ideas of a mobile war using tanks and planes
• In June 1943 he was appointed head of the French Committee of National Liberation based in freed Algiers
• On October 23rd 1944 he was recognized by the allies as head of the French government and his administration
• received similar endorsement.